New Orleans ‘Peace Wall’ Revealed

RushCard was back in New Orleans this past weekend to help artist Brandan “Bmike” Odums unveil the incredible Peace Wall that he painted with help from the New Orleans East community. The Peace Wall mural spans 200 feet wide and was designed to be a take on “The Creation of Adam” that Michelangelo painted in the Sistine Chapel.

This uniquely-NOLA version features the faces of New Orleans East residents spray-painted onto the side of the now-closed Grand Theatre movie theater. The theater, located off of Interstate 10, was once filled with local residents before it was wrecked during Hurricane Katrina. It never reopened.

In Bmike’s own words:

Spaces like this are disconnected because they’re eyesores. I’m interested in how art and paint can be used to reconnect a community.

Bmike wants this massive undertaking to help show a different face for Hurricane Katrina. “At the end of the day, we’re hoping this launches a new conversation that just brings pride back to what it means to be from New Orleans East. People from New Orleans East, they speak about it totally differently”, said Bmike. “I want this to also be for the Peacekeepers, to feel like their community appreciates them. To help give them the stamina to stay out in the streets a little longer.”

Check out some of the images from the making of the Peace Wall.

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Up next: We’re almost at the end of our Keep the Peace summer. We’ll close out in a few weeks in Baltimore where’ll we showcase the photography skills of local teens, inspired by photographer extraordinaire Devin Allen. Check back here for more!